Don Rickles
Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), Enter Laughing (1967), Kelly's Heroes (1970), and Casino (1995). From 1976 to 1978, Rickles had a two-season starring role in the NBC television sitcom C.P.O. Sharkey, having previously starred in two eponymous half-hour programs, an ABC variety show titled The Don Rickles Show (1968) and a CBS sitcom identically titled The Don Rickles Show (1972). A veteran headline performer at Las Vegas hotel-casinos and peripheral member of the Rat Pack via friendship with Frank Sinatra, Rickles received widespread exposure as a frequent guest on talk and variety shows, including The Dean Martin Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and The Late Show with David Letterman, and later voicing Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story franchise. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for the 2007 documentary Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project. In 2014, he was honored by fellow comedians at the Apollo Theater, which was taped and released on Spike TV, entitled Don Rickles: One Night Only. Rickles was born in Queens, New York City, United States, on May 8, 1926. He was Jewish. His father, Max Rickles (1897–1953), emigrated in 1903 with his Lithuanian parents from Kaunas. His mother, Etta Rickles (née Feldman; 1898–1984), was born in New York City to Austrian immigrant parents. Rickles grew up in Jackson Heights. After graduating from Newtown High School in 1944, Rickles enlisted in the United States Navy and served during World War II on the motor torpedo boat tender as a seaman first class. He was honorably discharged in 1946. Two years later, intending to be a dramatic actor, he studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and then played bit parts on television. Frustrated by a lack of acting work, Rickles began performing comedy in clubs in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. He became known as an insult comedian when he responded to his hecklers.
